No one needs to tell you that eating a diet loaded with lots of fresh produce is good for your health. It’s obvious, right? We all know that.
What is surprising is that recent research revealed that making a couple of specific changes to your diet could directly boost your memory and thinking skills. And it’s SO simple.
If you’re concerned about staying on top of your mental game as you age, you’ve GOT to see this.
It turns out following a diet I’ve recommended right here in Healthier Talk many times is associated with higher scores on memory and thinking tests among senior adults.
And unlike ridiculous and dangerous crash diets or hard to follow complicated eating plans, this is an easy to adopt LIFESTYLE.
Make it Mediterranean for better memory
According to researchers, folks who choose to eat a Mediterranean-style diet are far more likely to stay sharp as they age.
In other words, these super-agers are chowing down on lots of mouthwatering fresh produce, seafood, and olive oil. Not exactly what you’d call depriving themselves.
But it turns out there are two specific choices these memory marvels make that experts say could be giving their impressive thinking skills an extra boost.
I’ll have more on those memory-juicing tricks in a moment. First, let’s take a closer look at the study.
University of Edinburgh scientists recruited over 500 dementia-free 79-year-olds to test their thinking skills. The volunteers were put through their paces with word knowledge, problem-solving, and thinking speed tests. Plus, they were asked to fill out a detailed questionnaire on their eating habits.
Then more than 70 percent of the participants… over 350… had an MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) brain scan.
The researchers crunched the data looking for connections between the volunteers’ diets, their brain structures, and thinking skills.
2 easy diet tricks for better thinking
And that’s when they spotted it. The folks who were eating what closely resembled a Mediterranean style diet aced the memory testing. They had measurably higher cognitive function scores.
And the link remained even after the researchers factored in a bunch of things that could have affected it. Potential game-changers such as how active folks were, whether they were smokers, and childhood IQ measurements didn’t make a difference.
But they found many of the seniors with stronger thinking skills DID make two other diet choices that might have put them ahead of the pack.
- They munched on more leafy greens such as spinach, kale, and collards.
- They ate a moderate amount of red meats.
Other research has made the connection between leafy greens and memory too. For example, one recent study, published in the journal Neurology, found that regularly eating around 1.3 servings of the green stuff a day reduced memory loss and preserved cognitive function.
And don’t worry, aiming for moderation with red meats doesn’t mean you need to give them up. Just opt for less processed and grass-fed varieties when you can.
(Baffled by food labels? Check out my free report “From free-range to grass-fed – what food labels REALLY mean.”)
Plus, you naturally eat less red meat when you eat more seafood, so the transition is nearly effortless. And don’t forget fish earned the nickname “brain food” for a reason. It’s been linked to better cognitive function later in life too.
So if you’re concerned about your memory and thinking skills as you age… and who isn’t?… consider making the switch to a delicious Mediterranean diet.
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